Diaco Changing The Football Culture At UConn

April 12, 2014|Jeff Jacobs

EAST HARTFORD — On Wednesday, he brought them over in full practice gear to the women's national championship victory rally on campus. On Saturday, Bob Diaco brought his players down the Rentschler Field steps through the student section as they took the field for pregame warmups at the annual Blue-White Spring Game.

Some things are growing clear about the new football coach at State U., and one of them is clearer than the rest.

Right down to repainting the inside of the practice facility, everything is new. Right down to engaging inside the locker room and engaging the outside world, everything is different.

Now we know what it's like in those countries where all remnants of the previous regime disappear from the walls, from the words, from the thoughts.

These are giddy times at UConn, and the giddiness will spill onto the streets of Hartford on Sunday with the parade to celebrate the dual national basketball championships. Still, it has grown abundantly clear in recent years that basketball can take the giant conglomerates of major college athletic programs only so far. Football wags the multibillion dollar industry. And if we need a dose of humility today in terms of remaking the future national landscape — and isn't a little humility always good? — it should be pointed out that 72,000 folks showed up for the Penn State spring game Saturday, while 68,548 attended the Tennessee game and 61,058 paid at Ohio State.

Still, UConn drew 6,500, which is twice as many as last year's Spring Game dud. And it is scant exaggeration that everything, including the quality of the game, seemed to go off twice as well. Right down to the beautiful weather, of which, Diaco told the crowd, he was in charge.

"The players slathered on another coat of paint," Diaco said. "We are nowhere near what the final product is going to look like."

The final products of Kevin Ollie and Geno Auriemma were pristine. Their national championship trophies will be on display at the parade.

"The brand was national, but it's so hot right now, from coast to coast, as you're on the road recruiting, everybody knows UConn," said Diaco when asked how his program can capitalize on the twin titles. "The brand has a hot, hot name right now. That's a huge piece we'll piggyback onto, as will the rest of the university programs, from the music department to the business, that are trying to acquire talent."

The team is going to stay on campus Friday night for home games rather than go off campus, as in the past. There has been a Husky Walk before games, but the bus now will pull up to an area where there will be a shorter, more intense route through the biggest cluster of fans.

"I'd like the people to be able to come into the game earlier than otherwise would, particularly the students," Diaco said. "We're going to go through the student body and hope they come in and engage the players an hour or so before kickoff. It's a little extra heartbeat for the players, too, a little extra pep."

"Also, the warmup side is different. The home team warmup used to be under the scoreboard, the visiting team was down near the student section. I'm guessing it would be to have a hostile environment for the visiting team. But that's not how our team rolls. We do positive energy."

He seems to think of everything. And positive energy? POSITIVE ENERGY?

Lights flicker when Diaco enters a room. Dogs, 3 miles away, sense him coming and start barking. Energy vampires, as he calls the uninspired and cynical? They flee for the darkness of 3-9 seasons. Right down to having walk-ons as the team captains for this game, he wanted to send a message to the entire team that no person is more important than the other. This is a guy who, until school in Niles, Mich., is completed and his family moves in, has been living in an apartment above Auriemma's restaurant. He is extraordinarily in tune to what's happening on campus.

"Coach A hit me up, 'Thanks for bringing the team [to the rally],'" Diaco said. "The reality of it is, honestly, we got more than we gave. We're listening to those two young ladies [Stefanie Dolson and Bria Hartley] at the end, sobbing, just pouring out their hearts about how much they love the game, how much they love their school, how much they love their teammates and their coach. It was priceless for our guys to hear, for me to hear. It was well worth the missed practice time, 10 times more important."

Cornerback Byron Jones talked about the toughest weight training and workouts he has ever endured. He says he's knees over shoulders cooked when finished. He said Diaco's and the younger coaches' energy is electric.